TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

[livingfree]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Deena

Oh - deena You can take it with or without food - it says that on the insert information.

[maxi28]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Thanks Deena and Vino grl. I have been, up until now, drinking a bottle of cab sav per night, just to get a decent buzz. It's strange, but just knowing there are other people out there with the same problem and working on it helped me to just have 2 drinks last night. I'm going to try and keep it up on my own until the meds come. We'll see. Today's my day off, and after a day of cleaning house and running errands, I usually feel like I "deserve" to sit down with a bottle and a box of White Castle and get drunk in front of the t.v.

If this topa works, I'll be skinny!

[Its a miracle]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Topamax survey

Have been on Topamax for little over a month now and am taking 75 mg ? 50 AM and 25 PM. My impressions:

1) Weight the side effects against alternatives ? sure I?m dizzy and fatigued ? but I was with the hangovers most everyday as well. Vitamin supplements and Adrafinil help with this.
2) Total absence of desire to drink may be a panacea ? more realistic goal is a tool giving me the willpower to say no to that first drink ? for me the Topamax does that day in and day out.
3) The two times I have ?experimented? with drinking I found that drinking two drinks or six drinks had about the same effect ? I only get about a beer and a half ?buzz? from any amount of beer I drink ? a good thing ? no reason to binge anymore - or drink at all for that matter.
4) Definitely works as an appetite suppressant ? a good thing for me after years of binge drinking.

Highly recommend Topamax for those who can tolerate its side effect but know that its not for everyone. Finding the MWO website on a random Google search has started to turn my life around ? many thanks to RJ and all of you?s ? keep up the great work - you are saving lifes here.

[Deena]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Maxi, I ordered the supplements, CD's and the book when I found this site and was able to cut back on my drinking dramatically prior to receiving my order of Topa from River Pharm. Without boring you with all the details, some of the supps give me nasty side effects that I can't tolerate so I'm on a "modified" program right now that doesn't include the Kudzu and some of the other supps....you can do well even without the Kudzu!!!

My point is, that you can start the program and get results prior to the arrival of your Topa.

I will post my "results" when I titrate up to 100mgs next week. I haven't hit the so called switch yet, but I can say I'm pleased with the results I've seen so far (although it took me 5 hours to type this and I am bald...I KEED I KEED!) I am optimistic for the first time in many years that I am going to finally get control of this....

[maxi28]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Good for you Deena. So far, I am doing alright with a couple of light beers per night, and I'm enjoying not feeling like a an old sock in the a.m. This is my third night, but it would be even nicer if I didn't even need the little bit of alcohol every night. However, I work in a hospital, and I've seen the results of sever alcoholics quiting cold turkey. From little old 80 yr old women to middle aged "healthy" men. It can really mess with your immune system, at the least, and cause serious blood pressure fluctuations. Therefore, I'm maintaining a small dose, relative to what I'm used to, to avoid any "system failures". The thing is, the beer gives me a headache in such small quantities! No fun when you aren't ripping it up, so hopefully I won't feel the need at all in time.

I almost regret ordering the topa, but then again, I know how I am, and this problem is genetic, and I WILL go back to drinking too much without some kind of help.

thanks for writing to me deena, it's still helping just to have someone to write to (at?) about it.

Well, back to my oil can of Fosters, and that's it for tonight.

[loran]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Tegretol

Hi all,:new:

Discovered this site today and can't stop reading. Ordered the book and can't wait to read it. Fed up of what alcohol does to me!

I've been on Tegretol 200mg a day, on and off for 12 months now. Initially, the cravings lessenend, but now i still drink too much. Use the tegretol at night, because it makes me sleepy.

Anyone of you been on Tegretol? How does it differ from Topa?

Hope to hear from someone!

[vino_grrl]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

latest update ... some odd changes

hey all. so last i posted, i was going in to get topa from my doctor rather than from river pharmacy (had an order intercepted by US customs). my doctor was great about it ... listened carefully to me, my concerns, read the articles i brought in (and he knows me very very well ... ) ... and wrote me the prescription no problem. hurray! now instead of paying a fortune for it, i get it for a $5 copay.

but here's the bad part. i'm taking the exact same dose i was taking before. and, whoa, i don't feel so good. big time depression setting in (wasn't an issue at all before). i feel sooooooooo low. soooooooo unmotivated. i can't help but wonder if US manufactured topa and whatever was coming from india (where river gets theirs) are two different things/slightly different. that said, i can't tell if it's the drug or situational or some combination of the two ... something pretty awful happened at around the same time i switched (a long time friend committed suicide ... leaving her toddler/husband behind ... i had to speak at her funeral last week). i'm a single mom and my part-time nanny who i depend on quit that same week .. right as i'm starting job interviews. so it could be that i'm just not as resilient on this drug as i ordinarily am. or it could be that there's something different in this one than there was in the river pharmacy one. no idea. all i know is that i feel like someone injected a big dose of sad into one of my veins.

curious as to whether anyone here has tried any of the nootropics/added those to your mix (modafinil/provigil, etc) i'm tempted to go online to see if i can find the provigil and see if that makes a difference. but would love feedback from anyone out there. i'm going to give myself another week or so to see if this passes and, if it doesn't ... back to the doctor.

mary

(ps ... congrats paddy on going completely AF and topa free too! what an amazing milestone!)

[vino_grrl]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

maxi 28 ....

maxi 28 ... i had to smile at your 'deserve to' comment ... i remember when i was thinking like that pretty much every night. ;-) but i worked so HARD today ... no bottle of wine? how could i ever consider being so CRUEL to myself!!! there was no way a bottle of wine could get opened in the house and not consumed in its entirety if i was home alone.

fast forward post-topa. i was just in hawaii with a friend for work (i was there two weeks, she came to help for one). i was staying in host housing for a week and working so hard 'i didn't have time to drink.' (um, i never in my life didn't have 'time' to drink). or a place to keep my own bottle of wine (in the past i'd have had one snuck away in my own room). then when my friend arrived, we shared a hotel room. we bought a bottle of wine one night so we could have a glass sitting on our balcony. we each had one small glass that night. i had a half a smal glass from the same bottle the following night. by the time we checked out of the hotel after 5 nights, half that bottle of wine was still there. never, never NEVER would have happened pre-TOPA.

which, i guess, is why i'm scared to go off it -- even when i'm just now getting heavy depressive side effects. hoping there will be some way to get through the effects/manage them.

[sunny58]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Hi Loran,

:welcome: I've never tried or heard of Tegretol so can't help you there. I've been on the MWO program for 3 weeks now. I read the book and couldn't wait to get started. I went to my doctor and got the prescription for the topamax and ordered the supps and hypno CD's, when I had everything I got started. Tomorrow I'll be at 100 mgs of the topa. It's going pretty well. I'm still drinking but not like I used. I drink 2 glasses or less of wine a night. It doesn't taste that great anymore and I drink much slower than I used to. So somethings working. I'm waiting to reach the "magic" dose of topa that I've read people talk about to where I don't have the cravings. I still have some desire to drink. I am a bit tired on the topa but am dealing with it. I just joined a gym Friday and am going to start exercising after work when I would normally come home and drink my wine. I'm dosing up 25 mgs a week and really paying attention to how it's affecting me. I'm 49 years old, live in the Tacoma, WA area.

Would like to chat with you if you'd like. I think you'll like this program. There were a couple of times at the beginning I had my doubts because I was still drinking but after I found this site and read all the entries and realized it doesn't happen right away I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. I really think this is going to work for me.

T.

[maxi28]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

vino-girl...

It's funny how we can convince ourselves that distructive behavior is "deserved". :H Give me a break! I can't believe how long I've deluded myself. I did go to a party this weekend, and got totally obliterated, then of course had to have some hair of the dog yesterday, aka, a bottle of wine and several beers over the course of the afternoon.

Now that it's the weekdays again, I'm going to continue to try to drink moderately or not at all. I know, I know, this is a flawed plan and I know it, but for now, baby steps.

Vino girl, I can't wait to get to where you are. Hopefully the Topa comes soon.

Thanks for talking to me about this, it really helps.

[loran]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Hi Sunny 58

So nice of you to reply to my post. I got the book today. Still doing some more research. Please let me know how the different components of the program works for you. Are you using the Kudzu and what do you think about the cd's?

Will let you know when i start the full program.

Keep well.

[Deena]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

My stats

I wanted to add my own statistics to this thread when I got to 100 mgs. I am a 46 year old female, 5?6? now 130 lbs (lost 5 since starting the Topa). I started at 25 mgs and increased by 25 mgs weekly. I really am feeling the ?dopa? side effects, and I don?t like it, but I?m determined to ride this out, as many people say the side effects go away. I have had people at work and my husband (who doesn?t know I?m doing this) ask me if something is ?wrong? over the course of the last few weeks, so it?s noticeable.

Like many before me, I have noticed a marked decrease in desire to drink, although I am not AF. It is nice to have 1 ? 3 at night instead of 9 ? 10, and I believe I drink more out of habit than desire.

Some days I wish I could feel more euphoric about my success. In December when I joined MWO if I would have known that in March I would be having 2 glasses of wine and then be going to bed early instead of staying up late drinking a shit load of vodka, I would have been ecstatic. Now that I?m actually doing it, I don?t feel ecstatic. It?s hard to explain.

Anyway, after I upped my dosage to 100mgs on Friday I have been having a hard time with the side effects. I?m really dopey and struggling mentally and emotionally. Yesterday I had inner arguments with myself about going off the Topa altogether after making two pretty big blunders at work. Typically the first 3-4 days after I dope up I struggle, which is why I do it on Fridays.

Today I decided I?m not going up to 125. I?m going to try and level out at 100mgs and see if some of these side effects wear off as I?ve read in this thread. I simply cannot function at work with the dopiness as a permanent side effect. I?m hoping if I level off, the dopiness will disappear. Then I can make a clear headed decision about what I want to do here. I feel like I'm in such a fog right now and have been for the past month.

Anyway, that?s my story thus far. If you are considering trying the Topa, I would encourage you to do it. It has definitely had an impact on my desire to drink and is worth the effort.

Oh, and I also tried the full blown supplements and CD?s. My system couldn?t tolerate all the supplements, so I am now only taking 3 Kudzu pills a day and listening to the CD?s when I get a chance, although I usually fall asleep. I also take Valerian at night when I?m getting ready for bed to help go to sleep.

Oh, and my hair didn't fall out, but one day when I was feeling really dopey I kept looking in the mirror and had myself convinced it was falling out, no lie!!! :H The texture has changed though, but nothing that a more intense conditioner hasn't helped.

[livingfree]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Thanks for update

Deena - your experience mirrors mine almost exactly - except after 10 days at 100 I started coming back down. The effects started worsening - not leveling. I am now down to 50 and planing on going all the way off - Not worth it. I am almost 90 days AF and want to go it without the drug. But it is an "interesting" ride. Not something to take lightly. I am battling a kidney infection right now - and I have been drinking TONS and TONS of water. so --
There we go!
Keep us posted!
Liv

[poohbear]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

I have a few questions about topa. I have a prescription for it - got it under false pretenses I feel a little bad about that. My doctor had given me some before for migraines so I just called the office and asked if I could get a prescription and they called one in. I am looking forward to starting it as I just cannot go on like this anymore, however after reading some of these posts about side effects I am getting a little scared. Can someone please tell me that the benefits will far outweigh the side effects?? I want to be totally AF. Oh and at what dose should I start out at?

[Deena]

TOPAMAX SURVEY - DOSAGE/LENGTH OF TIME/SUCCESS

Hi Poohbear,
Everything I have read says to start at 25mgs. I would suggest you read this entire thread to see what the benefits are. I'm at 100 mgs now and am staying here for now, not upping to 125 today as I normally would have.

Many people feel the side effects of alcohol abuse are far worse than the side effects of Topa. Think about that. While I am not totally AF I am really impressed with how much I have been able to reduce my drinking while taking Topa and Kudzu.

Many people who have posted on this thread say that after you are on Topa for awhile, the side effects go away. My plan is to level off at 100 mgs and see if that happens. I can say that I am feeling a lot better now than I was earlier this week when I increased my dosage.